Chapter 6
3 days of excess
The trip to Poshley heights was indeed luxurious, but it wouldn't be relaxing and easy as professor Frankly had predicted. In fact, it would be full of hindrances and mysteries. But let's take it from the beginning. It was the first day. Mario and his friends were in their room, room 5. It had eight beds, a closet, a sink, and a bath. It also had a window with a spectacular view.
"Yeah. This is so deluxe." said Bobby. "The three days to Poshley heights will be over like that."
"Yes. I've always dreamed of riding this train." said Ms. Mowz
Suddenly, Koops noticed something on the floor.
"What's that?" he asked.
"A piece of paper. When did that get there?" said Mario. He picked it up and read:
"Don't go to Poshley heights. Get off the train now or a sticky yummy doom awaits it."
"What? That's a threat." said Goombela
"I bet this Beldam's work." said Mario. "Or someone's who's working for her."
"Whoever he or she is, he must be on this train." said Bobbery
"Yeah. We must find this nut before anything bad happens on the train." said Bobby
"We should meet the other passengers." said Mario. "This way we can see if anyone is suspicious."
"Good idea." said koops
They left their room and went to the other rooms. They first visited room 1. The door was opened by a toad with sunglasses.
"What do you want?" he asked
"We just want to meet our fellow travelers." said Vivian. "Who are you?"
"What a stupid question. I'm Zip toad, the actor."
Mario and his friends didn't react.
"The famous actor."
"I'm sorry, I've never heard of you." said Mario
"Very well. Then forget the autograph" said Zip toad and closed the door.
"What a rude guy." said Goombela
"Let's go to the next room." said Mario
In room 2 they met a rich toad lady.
"Hello." she said when she saw Mario. "I'm lady Toodles. And you sir are the most adorable thing I've ever laid my eyes on."
"Okay." said Mario. "let's go guys."
When they left, he said: "It's definitely not her. Next room
In room 3 they met a really obese toad. Room 4 was empty. In room 6 they met a penguin with a detective's hat and a magnifying glass.
"I'm Pennington." he said. "You likely would not guess it, but I'm a detective."
"I figured it out." said Mario. "Why are you traveling?"
"Well, I' m going back home. I've been away for so long I've forgotten what it looks like. Also, my intuition tells me something strange will occur on this train."
"We'll see about that." said Mario
"In room 7 they met a rat with a tie and glasses.
"Hello." said Koops to him.
"I don't have time to talk." said the rat. "My company is sending me to Poshley heights to make a deal. I must finish preparations before we arrive or I'll get the sack."
"Okay." said Mario and left with his friends. Room 8 was the last room and in it was a bob-omb family. A golden male bob-omb, a silver female bob-omb and a small male orange bob-omb. Those were the passengers. Also, between the area with the rooms 3,4,5 and the one with the rooms 6,7,8, was the dining room. There Mario met the waitress, who was a huge Zip toad fan, and the chef.
"Nice to meet you" said Mario to the chef.
"Yes. I' m chef Shimi. It's nice to make your complaintance." said the chef. "Uh…I mean... its' nice to make your acquaintance. Sorry, cheep-cheep is my first language. Today's lunch is so spectacular, it'll make your tongue cry out in shame. Please taste so that my talent doesn't wither alone in a pot of loneliness."
"I will." said Mario
After the area with rooms 6,7,8, there was a door to another room, but it was guarded by the conductor.
"Hello Mr. Mario." he said. "This is the baggage car. No passengers allowed.
"Okay." said Mario. "Just know that someone left a letter with a sticky yummy threat in my room
"Really? Okay, I'll let you know when I learn something." said the conductor
Mario still didn't have any idea who could have written the letter, but he hoped he'd figure it out eventually. At lunchtime he and his friends went to the dining room, but they realized something was not right. Everyone was at the kitchen area. The chef, the waitress and all the passengers. The only one missing was the fat toad in room 3.
"What's going on here?" asked Mario
"It's a tragedy." said chef Shimi. "It was my masterbeast… I mean masterpiece. And now it's gone and I'm left alone with tears in my eyes."
"What is gone?" asked Flurrie
"The pot of stew I had cooked for dinner." said chef Shimi. "It was delicious and now it's gone."
"I told you something would go wrong." said Pennington. "This my dear passengers is a mystery that impacts you all."
"What? A mystery?" said everyone at the same time.
"A mystery? And… er… what kind of dish is that?" asked chef Shimi
No one replied to such a stupid question.
"Yes. This definitely smells like a case to me." said Pennington. "What shall we call it? That's the question before us. I found it. The case of the pot of supper stew that vanished suddenly and mysteriously. You don't need to panic, because I am detective. At the risk of immodesty, you might say I have a nose for certain things. I'll get the culprit and make him pay for his crimes."
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh." said everyone else at the same time.
"First, let's look at the clues." said Pennington. "What we know is that the thief took the whole pot. And that esteemed passengers makes me believe that the one responsible… is you, you gluttonous woman." he said pointing at the waitress.
"What? Me?" said the waitress in sock. "Are you nuts? I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Er…. Sorry miss. I felt the need to practice my accusation skills." said Pennington. "You understand, right? Yes sorry."
Of course, after that false accusation, everyone realized Pennington didn't have much chance of solving the case.
"This will definitely be a case of my intellect." said Pennington.
"Let me get his straight." said the rat businessman. "What do we know so far? That we don't know who the culprit is… and I guess that's about it, right?"
"This sucks." said Zip toad. "I'm going back to my room."
"Hmmmmmmmmmmm. You there. In a bit of a hurry to go back to your room." said Pennington. You sir are highly suspicious. I've solved the case. The thief is Zip toad, the actor."
"Zip toad? THE Zip toad? Noooooooooooooooo way Mr. detective." said the waitress. "You're just making stuff up you... you ridiculous poser.
"Ridiculous poser?" said Pennington. "I don't think I deserved such a verbal thrashing, but then who did it, huh? This conundrum becomes more complex with every confounding step."
"I think it's about time we stopped sitting around and got some work done." said Mario
"You're right." said Goombela "Any ideas?"
"Well, the only guy I don't see here is the chubby toad from room three." said Koops. "Now, I don't want to be that guy and say he's the one who stole the food because of the way he looks, but the fact that he's not here makes him suspicious."
"Nice thinking." said Bobby. He then noticed something on the carpet. "What's that?"
"It looks like spilled stew." said Mario
"Let's follow the trail and find the real culprit." said Bobby. "It might even be the guy who wrote the sicky, yummy threat."
"What makes you believe that?" asked Vivian
"Well, if you steal you probably do other bad stuff, right?"
"We'll see." said Mario.
They followed the trail of the spill and it led them to room 3.
"I knew it." said koops
They opened the door and found the toad in it.
"Whoa. What do you want?" he asked and then he burped. "Sorry, about that."
"A pot of stew got stolen from the kitchen." said Bobbery
"Oh, I get it. Food gets stolen and you put the blame on the chubby guy. Not nice." said the toad.
"Did you know there are drops of stew just outside your door?" asked Ms. Mowz
"N... no, I didn't know anything about that." said the toad. "People spill stuff. And there's nothing in the drawer so, no need to look. You won't find a thing." He then tried to prevent Mario and the others from going near the drawer."
"Step aside or we'll have to resort to violence." said Mario.
The toad stepped aside and Mario searched the drawer. All he found was gourmet magazines, one of them devoted to the food served on the excess express.
"I told you." said the toad
They were about to leave when Ms. Mowz said:
"Wait. I smell something under the magazines."
Mario removed the magazines from the drawer and what did he find? The missing pot. It looked as it was licked clean.
"Duh. You got me. I did it. I ate it all. It was meeeeee." said the toad
Then Mario and his friends called Pennington to the room.
"So, you were so enamored of the stew you wanted to steal it to devour more." said Pennington. "And you stole the pot while the chef was chopping onions? Answer."
"Yes, that's right." said the toad. "I'm so sorry. It was a brief moment of weakness. I was so stupid."
"Justice has been served." said Pennington. "May this terrible crime never reoccur." He then turned to Mario and said: "And you sir, my unerring instincts identified you as the perfect person to solve the case. And about the note in your room..."
"You know about this?" asked Mario
"Yes. As the only detective on this train, the conductor confided in me. But we cannot speak here. Meet me at room 6, so we can discuss this in private. And please return the pot to the kitchen if you could."
Then, Pennington left the room.
"Let's go." said Mario and left the room with his friends. They went to the kitchen and gave chef Shimi the pot.
"Thank you." he said. "You found the grief… I mean thief. You even brought my pot. It's empty, but its' mine and I love it. Now I can get back to work. For tomorrow's lunch I'll prepare a delicious leaf. Oh, why must I butcher this language. I mean beef.
"Make sure that It doesn't get stolen again." said Goombela
Then our heroes went to room 6 and met with Pennington.
"I've been waiting." said Pennington. "I must admit you did very good work on this last case. However, I don't think that stew thief is our mysterious coercer. I deduced that from the lack of incriminating clues in his room. I can see you have an aptitude in solving mysteries. It is decided. I'll take you as my assistant."
"Who? Me?" asked Mario
"Yes. To reiterate my name is Pennington. I'm a detective from Poshley heights. In some circles I'm known as the Penguin with the improbably large brain. I'm sure you've heard of me, so that's all I'll say on the subject."
"Actually, I haven't..." tried to say Mario
"And you are…" said Pennington. "Wait. Don't tell me. I'll deduce your identity."
He looked at Mario and said:
"Hmmm. That mustache. That nose." He then said: "I got it. You sir are the famous Luigi."
"What? No. I'm…" said Mario. He was shocked that someone confused him with his little brother.
"No need to introduce yourself." said Pennington. "I know all about the famous Luigi. Now let's get down to business. Someone threatens to yummify the train. A sticky, tasty explosion. The bob-omb family in room 8 is definitely suspicious. Let's keep an eye on them. We must search for facts and find the truth"
"Okay." said Mario and left the room with his friends.
"I can't' believe he thought I was Luigi. I look nothing like him. Except the mustache… and the nose... and the overalls. But I wear red and he wears green. And he took me as his assistant. If it weren't for us, he'd still be pointing fingers at everyone on the train. That's all he can do."
"Yeah. He should be our assistant." said Bobby
"We just have to put up with all this until we get the crystal star." said Bobbery
"Yes. Patience." said Flurrie
In the evening, our heroes decided to check out that bob-omb family. The conductor was standing in front of the baggage car right next to their room, so they decided to ask him if he had noticed anything suspicious.
"No." he said. "Nothing unusual. The parents have been fighting all day. Their child has his birthday and they can't decide what to give him. I went into the room twice today and they didn't even notice me."
"Let's have a look." said Mario
They entered the room. The parents were indeed fighting and didn't notice them.
"I think we should get our little Bub the advanced learners' classic series of Bob-ombery." said the mom
"What are you saying Silvia?" said the dad. "That's cheap and boring. He needs something more luxurious. Perhaps a car or a house."
"He's too small for such things Goldbod." said Silvia. "Stop think of your social status."
"I don't want any of this stuff." said Bub. He then looked at Mario and said: "Wait a minute. I know you. You are Gonzales. The champion of the Glitz pit."
"How do you know me?" said Mario
"Me and my parents travel a lot there. I saw you fighting. You were the best warrior I've ever seen. Now you're detective?"
"Kind of." said Mario
"Then can you deduce what I really want for my birthday?" asked Bub
"Sure." said Mario
"Very well. If you guess correctly, I'll give you something valuable." said Bub
"I'll need a few clues." said Mario
"Alright. Here's a clue. It's something made of paper."
"That doesn't really help me out." said Mario
"Fine. That's the last clue I'll give you. It's a certain person's autograph."
"I got it." said Mario and left the room with his friends. They went to Zip toad's room.
"You again?" What do you want?" he asked
"An autograph." said Mario
"Oh yeah? I'm sorry, but as I said, I'm not signing autographs for you."
"it's not for us." said Koops. "A little boy wants it for his birthday."
"Oh, that's cute, but if he wants it, he must come and get it himself. I'll not give autographs for you."
Mario and his friends left Zip toad's room saddened. They were about to enter room 8 to tell Bub what had happened when the conductor said:
"Why are you so depressed?"
"Zip toad refused to give us an autograph for Bub."
"Oh, how sad. Now that you mention it, I just heard him saying something really cute. He said he loves trains and admires all train engineers. He also said he dreams of becoming a train engineer when he grows up. What a nice dream for a rich boy. It's a pity his parents won't listen."
"Everyone thought for a minute. Then Koops asked:
"Where's the engineer of this train?"
"At the first wagon, driving the train." said the conductor.
"Come on guys." said koops and left. His friends followed him.
"What's your plan?" asked Mario
"Don't you see it?" said Koops. "The kid admires train engineers. He wants the autograph of the train engineer, not Zip toad."
They reached the first wagon and found the train engineer.
"Can I help?" he asked when he saw Mario and his friends
"We want your autograph for little Bub." said Koops
"Oh really? Okay." said the engineer. He then wrote and autograph with his one hand and gave it to Mario.
"I've never written and autograph before. It felt fantastic." said the train engineer"
"Let's see if you were right." said Mario to Koops as they left the first wagon. They returned to room 8.
"So, did you bring me what I want most?" asked Bub
Mario took out the autograph hand gave it to Bub.
"Yes. That's it. Thank you. Here's your gift." He then took out a shiny thing and gave it to Mario
" What's that?" asked Mario
"It's a star piece." said Bub. "There was a storm of shooting stars many years ago and now these are left all over the Mushroom kingdom. It can grand you one wish."
"Thank you." said Mario and left the room with his friends.
After dinner, they walked on the train for a while. As they did, the conductor approached them and said:
"Help me. I've got a problem."
"What is it?" asked Vivian
"I found myself one open blanket short when I was handing them to passengers. I gave the last passenger my own blanket to make up for it, but it's vexing. I always have exact blanket counts, so It means someone came on board without a ticket. This stowaway may be the person who wrote the threat. And apart from that, without my blanket, I'll be too chilly to sleep tonight."
"Don't worry. We'll find him." said Mario and left with his friends.
"How can we find him?" asked Bobbery
"Remember room 4?" said Mario. I'm starting to believe it's not as empty as it seems."
They went to room 4 but it was empty. Mario made a motion to Vivian and she understood. She hid everyone in the shadows. Soon, they saw something unbelievable. A ghost appeared in the room. They all came out of the shadows and Mario shouted:
"Hold it right there!"
"So, you've found me." said the ghost. As you see, I'm a ghost. I'm cursed to haunt this cabin."
"Do you have a blanket?" asked Bobby
"Actually yes." said the ghost. "The conductor left one here earlier. He didn't realize that I'm a ghost."
"Do you have anything to do with a sticky, yummy threat note we found in our room?" asked Goombela
"No, I didn't leave such a thing." said the ghost. "I can't even hold physical objects like pen and paper."
"Okay. Then just give us the blanket." said Mario
"I will if you do me a favour." said the ghost
"What?" asked Mario who was tired of doing everyone's errands.
"What I want is… YOUR LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!" said the ghost and everyone got scared. "No, I'm just kidding. Actually, I passed away in thin cabin many years ago, but I think my luggage is still in the baggage car here. Among it was my personal diary I've kept since my formative years and the fear that someone may find it and read it has kept me tied to this world. If you bring it to me, I'll tell you where the blanket is."
As Mario and his friends were about to leave, the ghost said:
"And don't you dare read the diary or… Ho Hoo hooo. A horrible fate awaits you."
They went to the baggage car which was guarded by the conductor.
"Did you find the blanket?"
"You're not going to believe this." said Flurrie. "A ghost lives in room 4."
"And he won't give us the blanket unless we get his dairy from the baggage car." said Mario
"Really?" said the conductor. "Then you can go in. You don't say no to ghosts.
Mario and his friends went in and after a lot of searching they found the diary. Then they left the car.
"We found the diary." said Koops
"Great. Now take it to the ghost." said the conductor. Although I'd love to see what's written in it."
"Me too." said Goombela after they left. "It must be something really special to prevent that guy from resting in peace.
"I won't risk it." said Mario. "He told us not to look."
"I have an idea." said Goombela. "The little bob-omb told us the star piece can grand us one wish."
"Yes. And…?" said Mario
"We can wish that no matter what happens, we'll return to this exact spot. "
"Are you sure? It's very risky." said Mario
"I want to know what it says." said Goombela
Everybody agreed.
"Fine" said Mario. "he took out the star piece and wished that if anything happened to them, they'd return to that exact spot. He then opened the dairy and read:
"Month: Ộ day: ü
Today I got on the train. And on this train…
Suddenly, the ghost appeared in front of them.
"You looked!" he said. "Even though I told you not to. Now see what happens."
The ghost then killed Mario and his friends. Then they returned to the spot they were before they read the diary.
"Now you saw what will happen if we read it." said Mario
"Yes. Let's take it back." said Goombela
They retuned to room 4.
"Hers your diary." said Ms. Mowz
"Thank you." said the ghost
"What will you do? You cannot hold it." said Mario
"You are right," said the ghost. "Then rip it to pieces and throw it out of the window. This way no one will ever read it."
Mario did that. Soon the diary was no more.
"You were wise not to read it." said the ghost. "Otherwise you might be a ghost like me now. The blanket is in the second drawer."
Mario opened the drawer and took the blanket.
"Now I can rest in peace. We'll probably never meet again in this world. Goodbye."
A light appeared I the room and the ghost started going towards it. Suddenly he stopped and the light disappeared.
"Actually, maybe not. I've lived here for so long and I've gotten kind of used to it." said the ghost. "I think I'll stay here a while longer. I can leave whenever I want."
"Okay." said Mario and left the room with his friends. They then retuned the blanket to the conductor.
"Thank you." he said. "Now I'll be comfortable tonight. It's getting late. Perhaps you should turn in for the night. If anything happens, I can Handle it. For I am the conductor of the excess express."
"Okay. Goodnight." Then he and his friends returned to their room.
"We still haven't found our sticky, yummy mischief-maker." said Vivian
"We will. We still have two days." said Mario. "For now, let's get some rest."
Mario turned off the lights and everyone fell asleep.
The next day everyone woke up well-rested. They had breakfast and decide to go to Pennington to see if everything suspicious was going on. And it was. When they entered his room, they saw him talk with the rat businessman.
"What's up?" asked Bobby
"My dear Luigi." said Pennington. "You and your friends showed up just in time. A new case has arisen. Mr. businessman, please explain everything to my assistant."
"Okay, okay" said the businessman. "Today I woke up and I discovered my briefcase had been stolen. It contained all the contracts for our upcoming deal as well as our new product prototype. If I don't recover it… I'll lose my job at the least."
"Calm down." said Pennington. "The next part is vital so tell Luigi very slowly."
"Okay. The product was "Nitro honey syrup." Used properly, it's an amazing product that can even raise the dead. However, if it is mixed with the calcium from a shell and a bit of gold… then the results are explosive. The destructive goo-blast would bring everyone on this train in a sticky, yet yummy end. If it falls into the wrong hands… well, I could lose more than my job."
"Now let's see." said Pennington. "Someone stole your briefcase, though you definitely had it yesterday. And the train hasn't stopped at all in the intervening time." He thought for a moment and then said: "I got it. Rudimentary my dear Luigi. Rudimentary. The thief is still on the train. He's probably planning his evil scheme right now."
"That's serious." said Mario
"It gets worse." said Pennington. Have you spoken to the waitress and the lady in cabin 2?"
"No. Why?" asked Flurrie
"They've both lost something. The waitress has lost her shell earrings and lady Toodles her gold ring."
"Do you realize what that means?" asked Koops
"If the same person who has these items also has the nitro honey syrup, he can cause this goo-blast. He can carry out the threat on the note." said Mario
"We must find the thief." said Pennington. "He must be apprehended before that dastardly plan is put into effect."
"We will." said Mario and left the room with his friends.
"Let's see. What do we know?" said Ms. Mowz
"The train will make a scheduled stop at Riverside station this afternoon." said Mario. "If the thief plans to blow it up, he'll try to get off there. We must find him before then. We must also speak to all the victims."
They first spoke to the Waitress. They learned that yesterday Zip toad gave her an autograph and she was so ecstatic, she fainted in his hands. Also, lady Toodles in cabin 2 got an autograph from Zip toad. He came in her room and he was left alone for a minute when she went to the bathroom. Even the businessman got an autograph which even he found surprising. Zip toad gave it to him last night. He was so tired that he fell asleep immediately after he got it.
"Zip toad is definitely suspect." Said Goombela
"Yeah. He signed autographs for the three guys who got robbed and he had a chance in all three cases." said Bobby
"Let's go and ask him a few questions." said Mario
They went to room 1, but it was empty. All they found was a piece of paper on the floor. Something was written on it, but it was very complicated.
"I'm not sure what it is." said Vivian
"Let's take it to Pennington." said Bobbery
And so, they returned to room 6.
"Did you find any clues?" asked Pennington when they entered his room.
"Maybe." said Mario and gave him the piece of paper.
"Hmmmmmmmmmm. What's that paper? What sort of clue is it supposed to be?" asked Pennington
"Ack." said the businessman when he saw it. "That's one of my contracts. For the upcoming deal."
"What? I mean… of course. As I suspected." said Pennington. "Luigi, where did you find that?"
"In Zip toad's room." said Mario
"Yes. A place I've long suspected." said Pennington. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him today. He's hiding, waiting for opportune moment. You must find him.
"We will." Said Koops
They returned to their room to reorganize. Suddenly, Bobby made a motion and pointed at something on the floor. It was another document from the briefcase. No one spoke. They realized Zip toad was somewhere in the room. Mario looked at Vivian and she understood what she had to do. She hid everyone in the shadows. They waited and a few seconds later Zip toad, who was hiding under the bed, came out. Everyone came out of the shadows.
"Gotcha." said Bobby
"Zow. Where did you come from?" asked Zip toad in shock.
"Zip toad." said Mario. "With the power given to me as the sworn protector of the Mushroom kingdom, I arrest you for multiple thefts and attempt to destroy the train."
"You won't get me that easily." said Zip toad. He then tried to run away, but Mario hit him with his hammer. He bumped against the window and he fell on the floor.
Later, Zip toad was taken to room 6 by Mario and his friends.
"So, this was our man all along." said Pennington. "Pretending to be Zip toad to pilfer the other passengers unsuspected and aid his evil plan. It is all as I had deduced. I knew I all along. I also knew you were the one who threatened Luigi."
"Curses." said Zip toad. "I almost got away with it by getting off at Riverside station too."
"Yes. You had planned everything perfectly fiend." said Pennington. "However, your evil plan got spoiled by my improbably large brain and the assistance of Luigi. The jig is up impostor and the passengers of the train are safe. Now return what you stole."
"Bleah." said Zip toad and gave the businessman his briefcase.
"My glorious briefcase." said the businessman. "Thank you. Thank the stars it's safe. Now I won't get the sack."
Then Zip toad took out the shell earrings and the gold ring and gave them to Mario.
"Justice has been served." said Pennington. Then an announcement was heard.
"Attention all passengers. The train will soon make a brief scheduled stop at riverside station."
Indeed, soon the train stopped at Riverside station. There Pennington got off with Zip toad and the conductor. Suddenly, Zip toad said:
"I think not slick. You think you can hold me? Forget it. Beldam would be pissed off if I let that happen."
Suddenly, he transformed and revealed himself to have been Doopliss al along.
"This whole Zip toad thing was just a means to an end. It's me suckers. Doopliss. Beldam's plan to gooify Mario didn't work so I'll be leaving for now. I'll leave the rest to Beldam. So long suckers."
He then ran away and Pennington with the conductor were too shocked to go after him.
Meanwhile, Mario and his friends returned the earrings to the waitress and the ring to the lady.
"Thank you." said the waitress. "They were a gift from my ex-boyfriend. They have nice memories."
"Thank you so much." said lady Toodles. "My precious ring is back to its rightful place."
Then they got off the train and spoke to Pennington.
"It is all as I had suspected." he said. "Not only was Zip toad an impostor, but he was also a mysterious creature in a white sheet."
"Doopliss." said Mario
"It seems we're not done with this guy." said Bobby
"It's too bad he ran away." said Pennington. "We could have questioned him about this Beldam business."
Suddenly, the stationmaster appeared and said:
"We've got a problem. Someone lifted the drawbridge. The train can't leave."
Indeed, the bridge was lifted.
"I saw a suspicious shadowy guy with a hat go into the station. He must have flipped the bridge switch. The problem is it hasn't been used in so long, I don't know where it is." said the stationmaster. "I guess it's against protocol to ask a passenger to do this, but… Since you're the famous Mario and all, could you find the switch and flip it back. Please.
"Sure." said I Mario
"Great. Here's the station key.
Mario took the key and entered the station with his friends. They started searching and found an elevator. It needed a key, so they couldn't use it. They decided to look for the key. After a lot of searching, they found a box, but it was guarded by too Ruff Puffs. They tried to attack Mario and his friends with their lightning, but the missed. Bobby swallowed one of them and spat him out on the other. Then Koops attacked with his shell attack and Bobbery finished them off with an explosion.
"Good work team." said Mario and opened the box. He took out a key. It wasn't the key for the elevator, but it opened another door. They entered it and eventually found another box guarded by two Pokeys which they had to battle. Mario hit them with his hammer, them Ms. Mowz attacked them, many times and very fast and Vivian set them on fire. They opened the box and took another key. This time it opened the elevator and they used it to go down. There they found an army of strange small black creatures. They were smorgs. Mario figured it out because the constantly shouted:
"Smorgsmorgsmorgsmorgsmorg."
"Whoa Gonzales. What the heck are these little monsters?" asked Bobby
"I have no idea." said Mario
"Do you think these weirdos flipped the switch?" said Goombela
"Let's find it and switch it back." said Bobbery
The started knocking out the smorgs. It wasn't hard, because they couldn't do anything. In the end, they all got scared and ran away. The switched then revealed.
"Come on Mario. Flip it." said Goombela
"No. We've all worked hard together as a team to make it this far, so we should all flip it."
Indeed, they all flipped it together. Outside the bridge lowered, allowing the train to continue.
Mario and his friends exited the station.
"Thank you." said the stationmaster. "Now you can leave and reach your final destination. Have a nice trip."
They all boarded the train and it left. It soon got dark.
"It's late and today was tiring day." said Mario
"Yes. Now the conductor can handle the train." said koops
"Meanwhile, we can get some sleep." said Vivian
"Yes. Even heroes need some rest." said Ms. Mowz
"Okay. Goodnight everyone." said Goombela
"Tomorrow we'll arrive at Poshley heights an get the crystal star." said Flurrie
"And then they'll only be one left." said Bobbery
"And when we get that the world I saved." said Bobby
Mario turned of the lights and everyone fell asleep.
The next day, they woke up fresh and ready for some more action.
The went to the dining room for breakfast, but no one was there. Not even chef Shimi, who slept in the kitchen. They couldn't even find the conductor. They started to get worried.
"Where's everyone? Asked Bobby
"They may have overslept." said Koops
And what about the chef who sleeps in the kitchen?" said Mario. "And the conductor how always wakes up before anyone, because he doesn't sleep almost at all?"
"We should check on the train engineer." said Goombela
They went to the first car and thankfully, they found the train engineer casually driving the train.
"Good morning sirs and madams." he said. "Soon we'll arrive at our final destination, Poshley heights. I hope you enjoyed your trip. I' m sure you did because the excess express is fabulous. Its quite quiet this morning, wouldn't you say?"
"Yes. We haven't seen anyone. Not even the chef or the conductor." said Vivian
"That's strange." said the train engineer. Suddenly, a smorg appeared on the windshield.
"Hmm. Now what's that?" said the train engineer
Suddenly, the windshield filled with smorgs and it was impossible to see anything.
"These are the things from Riverside station yesterday." said Ms. Mowz
"Yes. They must have stowed away." said Goombela
"W… W… W… W… W... What c… c… c… c… can I d… d… d… d… do?" said the train engineer. "Uh, f… f… f... first we m… m... must ensure the s… safety of the p… p… p… passengers. B… B… B... But I must k… keep driving the t… t… t... train. Mario. P… P… Please check on the p… p... p… passengers."
Mario and his friends quickly visited all the rooms, but they didn't find anyone. And the smorgs now were on all the windows trying not get in the train. Eventually, Mario and the others entered the baggage car and found many smorgs in it. They all shouted:
"Smorgsmorgsmorgsmorgsmorg."
"Omigosh. They're in the train now." said Goombela. Let's take them out."
"The started knocking them out. The smorgs also had the conductors and the waitress and Mario and his friends saved them. In the end, the smorgs were overpowered an escaped from an open window.
"Detective Mario." said the conductor, still shocked. "You saved us again.
"I must have been taken by these things while I was sleeping. Creepy." said the waitress
"They must have entered through that open window." said the conductor. "And they still have our paying passengers. Those pour souls."
"We will save them." said Mario. "Come on guys."
They climbed out of the window and found themselves on the roof which was filled with smorgs. They started knocking them out, but there were too many of them. Suddenly, they all shouted:
"Smooooooooorg."
Then they all merged and created a giant smorg with tentacles in which it kept the other passengers.
"That thing is gross." said Goombela
"it's got the other passenger." said Bobbery. "we've got to save them."
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp." shouted all the passengers
The smorg prepared to fight. Mario and his friends tried to attack it, but they had to be careful not to hurt the passengers. They couldn't attack the tentacles, so they focused on the body. Smorg was powerful and used the passengers it had to attack Mario and his team. That gave Mario an idea. He jumped on one of the tentacles and tried to pull off the passengers on it."
"it's too strong. You can't save them now." said Koops
"I' m not trying too." said Mario. He then let go of the tentacle and it went back so sharply, it hit the smorg in the face.
"Great idea." said Vivian
They all did that and soon the smorg was weakened and lowered its tentacles.
"Now's our chance to do the finishing blow." said Mario
He jumped in the air and landed on the smorg with his hammer.
"Smoooooooooooooooooooo…" shouted the smorg as it got separated back into small smorgs and blown away by the wind. Meanwhile all the passengers landed safely on the roof. Mario and his friends took them all back into the train to recover from the shock.
"Thank you." said the conductor. "It seems all you did for three day was save us. How can we ever repay you?"
"Everyone is safe now. And it's all thank to you." said the waitress.
"Thank you so much. You shaved my life." said chef Shimi. "No, stupid tongue of mine. You saved my life."
"Did you know this fellow was the famous Luigi all along?" said Pennington
"Dear passengers. We'll soon arrive at Poshley heights. Please prepare disembark." said the conductor.
Indeed, an announcement was heard:
"Attention all passengers. We'll soon pull in Poshley heights station. Please watch your step as you disembark and make sure to take all your belongings with you. Thank you for traveling with the excess express.
Soon, the train pulled in the station and the passengers got off.
"Now we need to find the Poshley sanctum, the professor told us about." said Mario
They asked directions and eventually found it. However, the door was locked and there was a note on it.
"Gone traveling
Sanctum manager"
"That's bad. What do we do now?" asked bobby
Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice,
"Ah, it's my dear Luigi. What are you doing at my doorstep?"
They turned around and saw Pennington.
"Your doorstep? You're the sanctum manger?" asked Vivian
"I thought you were a detective." said koops
"Well, to be honest that's more like a hobby of mine." said Pennington. "Now enough chatter. Let's go inside."
He unlocked the door and they all went in. Mario and his friends were surprised. They saw the crystal star on a pedestal, but they also saw Beldam, Marilyn and Doopliss next to it. Bedlam quickly grabbed the crystal star.
"Mwee hee hee heee. You're one step too late." she said. "The crystal star is ours." She then disappeared in the shadows followed by Marilyn.
"Hey. Don't leave without me." said Doopliss. He then went to a broken window, which he had apparently broken to enter the sanctum and jumped out of it.
"Oh no. we're too late" said Vivian
"Quickly. We have to go after them." said Mario
"Now wait just a minute." said Pennington. "Luigi, what exactly is going on here? Speak quickly."
"We came here for the crystal star those guys took. We have to get them." said Mario
"Really? Ho Hoo Hooo." said Pennington. "You don't need to worry. The crystal star our rude friends just stole is just a red herring. A fake."
"Really?" said Flurrie
"Yes. The real one is hidden in the sanctum to prevent such a theft." said Pennington. "However, as the sanctum manager I'm prohibited from telling anyone. But I know where it is. For that you can be sure. Besides, I'm sure a junior detective like you can figure out where it is. Use the sharp-detective skills I taught you and find it. Make me proud."
Mario looked around. He could see two paintings. They both had the same castle and a pipe. In both paintings there was the phrase: "The trip is uphill." written on the right corner. The left painting was crocked while the right one not.
"We should probably straighten the left painting." said Goombela
Mario thought and then said:
"I got it."
He made the right painting crocked like the left. Suddenly, a pipe appeared in the room. Mario and his friends went through it. They appeared in the right painting. They went in the palace and found themselves in a secret room where the real crystal star was, on a pedestal.
"How did you figure it out?" asked Ms. Mowz
"It was easy." said Mario. "In both paintings there was the phrase "The trip is uphill." The left painting was crocked and the way from the pipe to the palace looked like a hill. I did the same to the right picture and it activated the secret passage."
"Perfect." said Goombela. "Now the crystal star."
Mario took it and felt stronger. With each crystal star he found, he became stronger and now he had six out of seven. They took the crystal star and returned to Pennington.
"Hmmmm. So, that's where it was… er nothing. I'm just talking to my brain. All geniuses do it." said Pennington. "Good work Luigi. You found the real crustal star. Feel free to take it. I'll just put another fake here. I'm sure you still have a long road ahead, but don't give up. Traveling with you has been hectic, but rather fun I must admit."
Mario and his friends left the Poshley sanctum and headed for the station to take the excess express back home.
Mario and his friends traveled with the excess express, but their trip was all but relaxing. Eventually, they got the sixth crystal star, the garnet star, from its hideout in Poshley sanctum and now there's only one left to find. Will they be able to get it?
So, I' m done with chapter 6. Next will be interlude 6. Please write reviews to let me know what you think of my work.